Join the Circus? (Dark Woods Circus)
by symmetrical soliloquy
Summary: Meiko Sakine is a young orphan without much money. Once she hears about a circus in town, she goes to have something to do. However, once she gets there, she is captured. Will she be able to escape with the people she finds or will she forever be trapped in the Dark Woods Circus?
1. Come one, come all

A small girl stood in the town center and looked at all the people around her in their fancy gowns and suits while the clacking of horse's feet and their conversations echoed all around her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw two blond clowns side-by-side handing out posters. The sight was unusual and intrigued her. As she stepped closer, she noticed the clowns were not side-by-side, but they were conjoined by the side.

"Come one, come all to the Dark Woods Circus!" The female called, sounding enthusiastic.

"Tonight we are showing the sad fate some in this world carry," The male said with a sadder tone. "Children who can't even carry the trembling limbs they were born with." The girl turned and looked towards the young girl in the red dress. She smiled and tugged the boy forward to the younger girl.

"Hello!" She said, holding out a flyer. The girl glanced down at the flyer. It advertised for a circus in bright letters. "Do you like circuses?"

"Huh?" The girl asked and looked around to check if she was the one being addressed.

"Do you like going to circuses?" The boy asked. The balloons he was carrying bobbed up and down.

"I've never been to one," The small girl replied.

"You should come to the circus this evening," The girl said over what the boy was saying. "Miss..." She paused and looked at the small girl.

"Meiko," The small girl said.

"I'm Rin and my brother is Len," The girl, now Rin, said. "Why don't you come visit the circus?"

"I don't have any money," Meiko said, "and I can't get some from my parents because they died."

"You can come for free!" Meiko looked up at the two. The prospect of going to a circus for free was very exciting to her as she had never been to something like a circus.

"Thank you," Meiko said. Rin and Len ran ahead. Meiko looked at them, glanced up at the setting sun, and followed them into the path. Lanterns lit the path through the forest with a soft glow and illuminated what the sun couldn't reach. The path continued deep into the forest before opening into a clearing.

Circus music played along with the din of many conversations and a loud voice advertising in the background. The twins became lost in the crowd and Meiko focused on the giant figures of two girls dancing to the music on the edges of the people.

"Oh! You're here!" A voice behind Meiko said. Meiko recognized it as Rin's voice. She turned to face the twins. "I hope you enjoy the circus!" And she was gone again.

"Stop by and see him," A voice called from the other side of the clearing, more near the largest tent. "Stop by and see him!" Meiko walked through the crowd to the smaller tent. Inside the tent there was a small path-like hall. On the side, there was a small hole in the fabric with glass in it to create a hole for looking in. Under it was a small sign that read "The One With Two Heads".

Meiko pressed her eye close and saw Rin and Len. Rin was smiling and Len frowned. They seemed to be talking, but they were inaudible. Meiko smiled at the two but they didn't seem to notice her. Up close, she noticed more about them. Len had marks almost like burns on his face, but Rin had none. After a few moments, she moved on.

The next one had a sign that said "The Deformed Diva". As Meiko looked in, to her surprise, she saw a teenage girl. The girl had long greenish hair tied in two ponytails. Her eyes were covered by a dark blindfold. She had a long dress that covered her legs and filled most of the room. Her face was badly injured and a sickly color.

Meiko continued down the hall. The next had a sign that said "The Blue Beast". Meiko looked inside and saw a young man in a straightjacket. His hair and eyes were blue, even his skin was a fainter shade of blue. In front of him was a plate. The contents were shocking-a human arm. To Meiko's disgust, he leaned over and grabbed the arm between teeth and bit through the skin. Watching it was like looking at a train wreck, you look despite the grotesque horror of it because you couldn't look away, though the whole circus was operating on that side of people.

Meiko finally was able to look away and was about to move on, but she heard a noise behind her. She looked behind her, but before she could get a good view of anything, her vision went black and she felt her muscles go limp before she blacked out.


	2. It's fun

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and especially to squirrelflightbc for favoriting! Every read is appreciated, even if you don't follow or favorite. :) Sorry about short chapters, but the good thing is I can get them done faster!

Meiko awoke in a cage with her muscles sore, a dull ache spreading through her body. She almost screamed when she remembered what happened. Her heart was pounding in her chest louder than any drum and her breathing was hard and shaky as panic gripped her. Once she calmed down, she became aware of the others in the room.

There was a soft noise like someone smacking metal and soft murmuring, but due to the darkness, she couldn't see who was making the noise. Meiko listened to the noise for a few moments before a beam of light shone through the door. Rin and Len stood in the doorway. They walked in and the soft noise became a loud rattling.

Meiko looked around. Next to her was the Blue Beast and the Deformed Diva was in front of her. Rin and Len stopped in front of Meiko's cage.

"How're you doing?" Rin asked.

"You were out for a long time," Len added.

"Where am I?" Meiko asked as she looked around.

"You're in the circus!" Rin said with her characteristic smile. They walked over to the Blue Beast next to her.

"Kaito, stop rattling the bars. If master hears you he'll get angry," Len said in a tone indicating a warning given out of consideration. Slowly, Kaito stopped shaking the bars. He looked at Len, but said nothing.

"I'm hungry," Kaito said quietly, "and I don't know who the person next to me is." His voice was deep and sounded odd, almost like he had a habit of not talking and wasn't used to speech.

"You'll get food soon," Rin said in her normal happy tone. "You haven't met our new member?" Kaito didn't reply, but he looked at Len with his head tilted slightly and a silver drop of drool slid down the side of his mouth.

"This is Meiko, she'll be staying with us for a while," Len said and smiled. Meiko shuddered at the grim underlying message.

"Rin? Len?" asked the Deformed Diva. "Is that you?" Her voice had a sweet sound, but it was hollowed out by sadness.

"Yeah, Miku, we're here," Len replied, turning his head to face her. Rin smiled at Kaito and turned to face Miku.

"We have someone else here?" Miku asked. Her tone sounded sympathetic. "You shouldn't have let her come here." A silence fell over the room, only interrupted by a man walking in. He walked

"How is our new performer doing?" He asked with a cruel smile as he walked closer with the psychotic expression plastered on his pale face.

"Who are you?" asked Meiko. She sounded afraid.

"From now on, you can call me master," said the man and he lifted up her cage and carried her into another room.

"Have fun becoming a performer," the man said with a sick grin. He pulled Meiko out of the cage. Terror rose into her chest and mind and she began to panic. The man held her arms down and pulled her onto a table. He strapped her arms down and a light flicked on and revealed a gruesome array of tools. The last words Meiko heard before she passed out were a sick "enjoy".


	3. One of Us

A/N: Thank you so much for two reviews! I'm so glad you like it! :D Thank you EC and squirrelflightbc! Thank you for your suggestion for Meiko, EC! I didn't have an idea for her and now I can continue writing sooner! Sorry about super ultra shortness, but I think it fits under one topic and don't want to force it to be longer than it should.

When Meiko awoke, she had a pounding headache and was even more sore than she had been earlier. Something felt different on her back, but she couldn't place a finger on it. The pain made her feel nauseous. It was like every nerve was waging a war against her.

Meiko turned her head to find out what the strange feeling on her back was. Once she looked behind her, she came face to face with two large glassy wings. Terror pounded over her like a wave and she almost screamed. Wings?!

Wings weren't the only change, as she soon realized. Earlier she had had difficulty seeing in the dark, but now she was fine. Her terror added to the nausea tossing her stomach. She took several deep breaths to calm down and looked around. Next to her, Kaito was staring at her with his head slightly tilted. His nose was twitching slightly as if he was sniffing the air.

After a few moments of silent staring, Kaito's blue eyes wandered down and met Meiko's briefly.

"Hello," said Meiko, "my name is Meiko."

"Meiko..." He repeated slowly.

"What's your name?" Meiko asked, though Rin and Len had already told her his name. She simply was trying to engage him in conversation.

"Kaito..." He said and he began chewing on a finger.

"What's it like here?" Meiko asked. If he would talk, it was best to get information.

"Don't make master angry," Kaito responded in a quieter tone than before.

"Why?" Meiko asked. Kaito looked straight at Meiko with more focus than he had had during the rest of the conversation. While looking directly into his eyes for more than a few seconds, you could see a lot more. The icy blue seemed more serious when focused, but there was sadness buried deep in them and covered up by something else.

"It hurts when you make him angry," He said, sounding much more focused and louder. With that, he turned away from Meiko and began biting his arm. Meiko was left with less answers than before and was confused as to what he meant. It took her a few moments before she remembered the burn marks.

Beginning to panic slightly, Meiko turned back to Kaito.

"What do you mean it hurts?" She asked. In an almost unintelligible voice, Kaito responded:

"Burns."

"How do you get burns?" Meiko asked, in almost full on panic.

"Acid," was the response even quieter than before.


	4. Soon you'll see

A/N: So sorry for not writing for a few days! I promise I'll get back into it soon! Thank you Aisu-dazs for the review!

Meiko looked away from Kaito with a horrified expression on her face. The burns. Acid. Burns..from acid... on their faces? Meiko couldn't seem to understand why they would be burned if they made "master" angry. What type of stuff did they do?! As she backed into the right side of her cage, she saw Kaito lean over with his head pressed into his knees. He began chewing on the cold looking blue skin of the knee.

"What are you doing?" Meiko asked in a shocked tone. Kaito raised his mouth off his knee.

"Hungry..." He muttered.

"So you eat your leg?" Meiko asked in shock. "No, I'm sure we'll get food!" Kaito looked at her for a few moments then went back to chewing on his leg. As Meiko moved closer, she saw he didn't appear to be breaking the skin, just licking his knee and chewing on it. Kind of weird, but okay. As she sat staring at Kaito, Rin and Len opened the door. They walked to Meiko's cage and peered in as if at a zoo.

"Wow, wings is a first!" Rin said excitedly.

"I didn't know they could pull something like that off," Len added, sounding impressed. Meiko was a bit annoyed at them paying more attention to her wings.

"So," Rin said with a giggle, "now you're one of us!" She turned to Kaito and pulled out a sack. She reached in and brought out a large cut of red meat and tossed it into his cage. Kaito ran to the meat, which landed with a splat on the floor of the cage. He took a bite out of the meat as Rin threw a few more chunks of meat into the bottom of the cage.

Kaito quickly ate each piece and was left with a few smears of what Meiko presumed to be the creature's blood on his face. He reached his tongue out and licked it off his cheek. He stared at Rin and Len with an expression not unlike a dog begging at the dinner table. Rin laughed and ruffled his hair.

"That's all you get for now," She said happily, "but we'll get some more soon." Meiko was slightly confused. She hadn't seen any animals that were for eating, and if there were any, wouldn't they be used in performances? As Meiko tried to decipher her meaning, she thought maybe they stole the animals, but there hadn't been any thefts of animals recently... That brought her to missing things... Missing, missing, she knew something had been missing. Finally, she snapped into what was missing.

In the weeks before she was taken, there had been several children who went missing. She shuddered at the possible conclusion, but anything seemed possible. She remembered him chewing his knee and staring at her with eyes that barely held emotion. As fear began to overtake her, she thought back to his title, "The Blue Beast", but the tag on the cage said: "The one who eats his own kind, the Blue Beast".


	5. The Horror of Reality

A/N: I decided to be descriptive about Meiko's terror and this is probably the main kicking in of events. :D Thank you .panda for following and favoriting! :D

As the reality sunk into Meiko, Kaito looked up from the remnants of his gruesome meal into Meiko's horrified gaze. Her terror was met with an almost unnaturally cold gaze. His expression was blank and his eyes seemed to lack emotion. The icy blue color seemed to add to the coldness that made his gaze seem inhuman. Disgust and terror were having an all out battle with her slight morbid curiosity. That same curiosity was the same thing that damned her to be trapped in a cage like an exhibition for who knows how long.

The true nightmarish horror was finally clicking into Meiko's overwhelmed mind. Abduction, mutilation, exhibition, and finally the remains or "extras" were disposed of by the hungry Blue Beast who had most likely been starved and experimented on until desperation came with horrifying animality. Despite her fear, she also felt a horrible pity and curiosity at what they had done to erase his humanity.

She felt like running from Kaito, but she also felt like trying to erase what they had done and restore whom he had been before he had been captured. An almost sickening combination of compassionate pity and terror left more confusion than she had felt before. A glassy wing twitched and a strange jolt went down Meiko's back. She was in a neutral zone, in between running from him and all the others and retreating into herself in fear or running to them to help in pity.

A soft sigh escaped her mouth and Kaito looked back to her. Their eyes met and the contact stayed. On closer and longer inspection, his eyes were not emotionless. The emotions were there as clear as the sun was in the sky if you looked for them, but they were disguised from countless unspeakable horrors that left him traumatized and retreated into himself. His unfocused gaze was not unfocused because of absent mindedness or madness as Meiko had presumed, but his mind was working, possibly to hide himself for protection.

Once Meiko arrived at her conclusion, she arrived at another one. She couldn't leave them to suffer and die alone and beaten. She wouldn't let another human suffer forgotten and abused for their whole life. She wouldn't let it happen to them or to her. There had to be a way out, and Meiko Sakine was going to find it if it was the last thing she did.

The Blue Beast seemed to realize she was going to help. His eyes seemed to lighten and his gaze seemed less cold. He scooted forward on his knees until he was almost pressed into the bars of his cage. Like a machine he scanned her body up and down before returning his gaze to her eyes. A few sharp teeth poked out of his mouth and pushed his pale bottom lip into his mouth. It could have been the lighting, but Meiko could have sworn she saw a knowing smile oh his face before he turned his head down and curled up to sleep.


	6. Trapping and plotting

A/N: Thank you Demonic Dancer for following and favoriting! Also, something got messed up last chapter. Thank you .panda for following and favoriting! Thank you EC for reviewing! I notice that I end up making new chapters instead of breaking a chapter into pieces, I don't know why though. Oh, just a heads up to readers, but in about a week I'll be going to Hawaii for two weeks! I might not be able to write chapters and I will probably not be able to update, then I will be home for a day, then I will be gone for another week.

Meiko awoke the next morning to a loud noise. She blearily opened her eyes to a loud

"Wake up my precious exhibits! It's show time!" She grimaced and thought the only one who would say that was "Master". She watched as the man who had experimented on her walked into the room with his sick smile. He pulled Miku out of her cage and said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Well, Diva, I think it's time for your show." The smile plastered on his face like a mask turned aggressive. "Try anything funny and you're burned." He walked to Kaito's cage and roughly pulled him out by his collar. The man pulled a dirty straightjacket off the ground and forced Kaito into it.

"There you go, Beast," He said. "You have your jacket." He shoved Kaito onto the ground. Kaito did nothing to resist, he simply fell limply onto the ground. His eyes wandered to me and I cringed thinking about what happened to him and MIku. The man turned to me and pulled me out more gently and was clearly trying to avoid injuring her wings.

"And you're our new special attraction," He said in his disgustingly sweet tone like when something has way too much sugar. He grabbed Meiko's collar and brought her out with the rest. He held Miku and Meiko's collars and dragged Kaito, who was still on the floor, by a strap on his jacket. He dragged them onto a stage, where Rin and Len were waiting. The two pulled Kaito into a sitting position against a wood box.

"Oh, you're here, you're here!" A loud advertisement-like voice called. "Stop bye and see the greatest show on Earth, the Dark Woods Circus!" Roars of cheers and applause erupted from the audience. "First up is the last chimera ever born, the Deformed Diva!" Rin and Len helped Miku find her way onto the stage. The crowd waited in hushed anticipation for her act. Rin and Len rushed off the stage and a hauntingly sad song began.

"'I am hated like this.' 'Please watch, I am being hurt in this way.' If you're afraid, go back to the corner of the Ferris Wheel. Seen from here, even if it's horrible, is a landscape full of tragedy. There's no end, it keeps revolving. Spinning and spinning inside my head. Why can't I escape it? I want to be noticed even though I'm a doll. A carousel in the bottom of the rain. Spilt tears are inside the water. Feelings of loneliness sink as well. A sweet aroma might pass by, poured into a coffee cup. Inside multicoloured affection, only I am alone. I can feel no more than that. 'Why are you hated like that?' 'Even though I didn't do anything.' Even if getting hurt was not allowed, at least the pain is trying to show. 'What are you thinking? You read this.' Words emitted in uneasiness. They are crushed. My world came to be enslaved in solitude, appearing from the prison cell is an animal; no longer a human being. In the pouring rain, I lost my way until exhaustion; it is the final event. That name I carve is.. 'Hateful Wonderland'" She finished the song and more applause erupted. Meiko understood the message Miku was saying, she was telling her story in a song.

"Next up, we have the one with two heads, Rin and Len!" The earlier voice called out. Rin and Len rushed onto the stage as Miku exited with her arms outstretched. She walked to where the rest were and Kaito pushed himself off of the box and scooted towards her. He bumped slightly into her legs and she reached down to pet his hair. For the first time Meiko could be sure of, Kaito smiled genuinely. Miku bent over slightly more and her dressed tugged slightly aside, revealing a pair of goat legs. She gently placed a hand on Kaito's jacket.

"I hate it when they make you wear that jacket," She said with a sigh. Applause roared like thunder.

"And now, one only recently discovered in jungles from far away, the Fly Girl!" The voice cried. Meiko was confused until Rin and Len, who had come back from their performance, told her it was her. They gave what could have been a friendly push, though it felt more like a shove. Meiko half walked, half stumbled onto the stage and felt odd being stared at by a million eyes.

Meiko was confused as to what to do, but she wanted to see how the wings of hers worked. A fragile-looking glassy wing was lifted out from her body and slowly she tested movement, feeling strange nerves and muscles connected. She slowly began moving the wings out from her body and began working faster and faster until she was lifted from the ground. The flight was amazing, she felt more free than she had in her life. She flitted around the stage and heard gasps of amazement from the watching eyes.

Waves of applause roared from the crowd and drowned out the soft noises coming from Meiko's wings as she flew to the ground. She walked off the stage to where the others were. Someone had attached a leash to the back of Kaito's jacket and Rin was holding onto the end of it. Another act must have gone on, because the audience wasn't leaving. The man they referred to as "Master" walked in with his normal insane grin plastered on his face.

"Great job you guys," He said. He then turned to Miku. "But Diva, I think you might have been going a bit far with that song of yours. You know what the punishment is." He pulled a vial containing a strange liquid in it out of his pocket and pulled the piece of fabric off of Miku's eyes. Her eyes were blank and unseeing and there were leaking wounds around the edges of her eyes and some near her cheekbone.

The man popped the cork off the vial and splashed it on Miku's face. She let out a piercing scream and the smell of flesh being cooked filled the room. Kaito let out a small, whimper-like noise as he watched Miku in pain. A large wound opened up below her eye and her screamed turned into pained sobs.

"Now, don't do it again," said the man. Rin's grip on the collar loosened and Kaito frowned and tried to walk towards Miku. The man turned towards Kaito and grinned, a second vial in hand.

"Now now, Beast," He said, "do I have to punish you too?" Kaitos head hung down and he fell to his knees, then down onto his side. He curled up and closed his eyes as if preparing to be burned as well.

"As a warning, there will be some punishment, but it will not be as severe as it could have been," said the man. He pulled a vial full of a different liquid out and splashed a few drops on Kaito's side. A less harsh hissing sound came once the liquid made contact with his skin. It seared through his clothes and left a small burn on his side. The man, still with his sick grin, looked over the other two and walked away.

Once he realized the man was gone, Kaito slowly uncurled from the ball and scooted towards Miku. He tapped his head onto her leg as a sort of "I would hug you but I can't I'll just let you know I'm here" type thing. Miku's breathing began slowing from the heavy, pant-like breaths of someone who had been crying to a normal breathing and she reached out and petted his hair. Meiko felt nausea grip her again and she was finally able to look away, a few tears sliding out of her eyes. Her horror finally reached the highest point. She had been told about the acid, but seeing it used as a punishment, especially for trying to comfort someone, just seemed to be on another level of horror when she had witnessed it.

Rin and Len walked up to Miku and Kaito. Rin picked up the end of Kaito's leash and smiled as if nothing had happened.

"Come on guys, let's go!" She said. She helped Kaito to his feet and Len did the same for Miku. They walked into the middle of the circus where they were supposed to be for a while longer. Meiko followed them and, looking around at the forest in the sun, it was a lot nicer than inside a cage in a tent. She longed to be back to normality and being at the orphanage, even that was a lot better than being in the circus as a freak. She sighed and in the back of her mind she began making ideas to escape.


	7. Plans of escape

A/N: Thank you Dancer520 for following and reviewing! Haku and Neru will probably come in, but they will most likely be minor characters. Thank you OkamiNoSafaia for reviewing! Thank you marnie1990 for favoriting! Thank you Katize Luka for following, favoriting, and reviewing! :D

As Meiko stared into the forest with her mind elsewhere, she noticed two figures dancing slowly in the thick wall of trees. The dancing wasn't odd, but she could clearly see them through the trees. She began staring with, her mind whirling, until Len tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, are you going to stare at the forest all day?" He asked. Rin giggled.

"Yeah, come on!" She said in her bubbly tone. Meiko blinked a few times and looked slightly confused. She cleared her head and followed them into the center of the carnival. Rin and Len walked into the crowds of people swarming out of the largest tent with Kaito trailing behind on his leash. Loud conversations from the swarms of people and loud carnival music drowned Meiko's thoughts as Rin and Len lead her to a place with less people. In the shade cast off a tent, a group of five gathered. Kaito walked to Miku, tugging the leash tight and almost pulling Rin and Len ahead. Rin handed the end of the leash to Miku and Kaito walked to her side. His expression was worry mixed with protectiveness. It was clear to Meiko they were close.

Nobody spoke for a few moments, they just listened to the humming buzz of life coming from the crowds. Meiko was biting her tongue to keep from spilling her plan, but the sadness on the faces of the people she was staying with urged her to tell them.

"I have a plan," She blurted and bit down hard on her lip as if it would cover up her mistake. The group turned towards her with fresh curiosity budding among them.

"W-well, I was thinking of a way to get us out, it's still in planning, but I think we can escape," She said. Hope seemed to bloom out of the curiosity and the shade seemed brighter.

"What's this about escaping?" A voice recognisable from miles away chimed. Meiko turned and there was the person she dreaded hearing them the most, the ringmaster. He tsked and walked closer to the group.

"Oh dear, I thought we had covered this earlier with the Diva and the Beast's punishments," He said with a horribly fake look of sadness. He pulled Meiko out of the group by her collar.

"Come on, let's not trouble the others with your punishment," He said as he dragged her away. Meiko watched the group's hope turn to defeated horror as she was pulled into an operation room-like room. Metal tools stained crimson adorned the walls like gruesome trophies. Meiko looked at them and bit her lip, a sick nausea rising in her chest.

"Come now, don't be scared," said the ringmaster as he pulled a familiar vial out of a drawer. "This doesn't hurt as much after you get used to it." He splashed the liquid onto Meiko's cheek and she screamed as a burning pain seared at her flesh. She fell to the floor and tears rolled off her cheeks. She curled into a ball and her breathing became ragged with sobs. The ringmaster tsked again and dragged her off the floor and back to the group.

"If there's any more discussion of escaping, the punishment will be worse," He threatened and walked away. Meiko heard light footsteps approaching her and out of the corner of her eye saw dark blue. She felt someone sitting next to her and realized Kaito had walked from where Miku was to Meiko. There was a sound of something dragging behind him and Meiko realized it was the end of the leash.

"Are you okay?" Rin asked in a panicked tone unlike her usual happy one.

"I'm fine," Meiko said. "This just makes me want to get out more."

"So, what do we do in your plan?" Len asked.

"I don't know yet, but I think I have an idea."


	8. Plotting

A/N: Thank you Demonic Dancer for reviewing! I kind of end chapters when they feel done, so that's probably the reason for shortness. Thank you Katize Luka for reviewing! I'm glad or I wouldn't have been building tension properly. XD Also, just a reminder, in about three days I will be going to my dad's house, I might be able to update some there, but after that I'm travelling for two weeks, then going back for one day, then gone another week, so if I'm gone for awhile, don't think I've dropped the story, I'm really enjoying writing it. :)

In the following evening as Meiko sat in her cage and began her plot. Let's see, we need to take care of that ringmaster or he'll have our heads for sure! She thought But how? How, how how... Oh, right! This place is filled with dangerous tools and he has acid. Where do we go after? We'll probably be killed on the streets, they need somewhere to stay that will help them, and I can't do that, I'm just a kid. She bit her lip. Where could we stay, come on, you must know a place... No, the orphanage wouldn't take people who are "odd". An institution would just be worse... Isn't there a home for people who are "odd"? Yeah! I remember it! Meiko grinned at her solution, but when it would happen was the main question plaguing her mind. The thoughts whirring in her mind soon lulled her into a sleep as if the cage was a bed she was returning to.

Meiko awoke to a soft noise next to her. She rolled over to see the source and saw the blue eyes of Kaito. His gaze was cast over her and he was near the very edge of his cage.

"Do you have a plan?" He whispered with a slightly excited tone. Slightly dazed from being awaken, Meiko paused a bit before responding.

"I'm still working on it, but I have some ideas," She responded. Even in the darkness, Maiko could tell Kaito's eyes lit up.

"I want to hear," He whispered hurriedly.

"Oh, well, sure," Meiko said. "I don't know when, maybe after something big, but we need to take care of the ringmaster or we'll be killed for sure. I think I know of a home that would be able to take us in, but I don't know when to escape or the little details." Kaito stared at her for a few moments before smiling. He didn't seem to have a response, but his expression seemed approving.

"Hey," Meiko asked, "why don't you speak often?"

"I don't have much to say," Kaito put simply. He paused before adding on: "Besides, I don't want him to hear me, he doesn't need to." Meiko fell silent and looked ahead at Miku, asleep, in her cage. Rin and Len lay in front of her cage on the floor, both asleep as well.

"How late is it?" Meiko whispered. Kaito shrugged.

"Nobody's come in yet, so I say it's before six. Or a day we don't have a big performance," He responded slightly louder than a whisper. At that, Rin blinked awake and shook Len until he was awake too. They walked to Miku and woke her up. Rin looked excited.

"So, do you have a plan yet?" She whispered.

"I don't really have a full plan, we should probably work on that together. What we need is a time and what we all do in it. I know we need to kill the ringmaster or he'll kill us and I think I know somewhere we can go afterwards who'll help us," Meiko responded hurriedly. Rin gasped and smiled.

"Yay!" She said. "We might be getting out of here!" Meiko smiled.

"I can't just let you guys die here," She said. "You don't deserve that. Nobody does." There was a slight silence.

"Nobody ever tried to help us before," Len said. He looked happier than Meiko had ever seen him.

"Well then, I'll proudly be the first," Meiko said. Kaito reached his hand through the bars of his cage into Meiko's and placed it on her smaller hand.

"And we'll be with you every step of the way," He said. Meiko smiled and looked at the group.

"Now come on guys, this is a team effort!" She said. "We need to find the right time and make a plan!" Rin cheered and the others smiled with freedom and hope blossoming amongst them.


	9. Unexpected plans

A/N: Thank you Katize Luka for reviewing! I was kind of doubtful of my characterization, but I'm glad to know people like it! :) A super big thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or read, I couldn't have gotten this far without you guys! ❤ Sorry about shortness!

A little bit later...

A day, bright and happy seeming. A day of careful planning and tense secrecy. The schedule of shows and plans soon became a hectic part of Meiko's life. The ringmaster had only caught them a few times, and several times the blame had been taken away from Meiko. Over the days and increasing severity of punishment, pieces of Miku's already injured cheek began loosening and threatened to fall. The horrific injuries only made Meiko want to help them escape even more.

She hoped the plan and time would come right, but she knew time was short. The group gathered once again under the shade of a tent.

"Okay guys, I think we have something going," Meiko said.

"Does that mean we'll be able to escape soon?" asked Miku, sounding hopeful. Before Meiko could respond, an all too familiar figure approached.

"Oh dear Diva," He called in a sickeningly fake sympathetic tone, "what have I said? Tsk. Look's like I have to be harder on you." He grabbed Miku by one of her long ponytails and was about to drag her away when Kaito ran up to them. He stood in the way of the two. The ringmaster looked at him and smiled.

"Oh, how cute," He said. "You want to take her place because you love her. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't take substitutes." He raised his free hand and struck the side of Kaito's face. Kaito flinched but stayed standing. The ringmaster frowned.

"Come now, do you want me to use something harder?" He asked. At Kaito's lack of response, he pulled up his cane and hit the side of Kaito's face again. Kaito stumbled and nearly fell, but stood. The ringmaster frowned more deeply and with more force than before, struck his abdomen. Kaito stumbled and bent over a bit. The ringmaster finally swung with great force at the side of Kaito's chest and finally knocked him over. A bruise began spreading over the side of Kaito's face as he fell to the ground. When knocked over, he lay on the ground defeatedly and watched the ringmaster drag Miku away.

Meiko ran over to Kaito and kneeled down.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Miku..." Kaito said sadly "She's gone."

"We have to go get her!" Rin yelled.

"Yeah!" Len agreed.

"I guess plan escape is in effect," Meiko said. She helped Kaito up and they began following the ringmaster to what they hoped would be their freedom.


	10. The Plan in Action

A/N: I know I said I would most likely not be updating soon because of vacation, but I couldn't stop thinking about this story and now with the topical storm done and most of my family (except my parents) leaving, I might have more time to update! OkamiNoSafaia: Your review was kind of what got me to write this chapter now, so this one's for you! To everyone who has followed, favorited, reviewed, or even just read, thank you! I couldn't have gotten this far without you guys! 3 Guest: Hello. :D Note: This isn't the last chapter, there will be more. :D

Meiko stepped into the dark room cautiously with the group following after her. Her heart pounded louder and harder than ever before. With a glance at the floor, Meiko decided it would be better to fly above the ground than risk a squeaky board. A soft fluttering noise flew from the movement of her wings as she hovered slightly above the ground.

"What do we do now?" Len whispered nervously.

"We go get Miku!" Rin snapped in a slightly louder whisper and tried to walk away.

"No!" Interrupted Meiko. "We have to get something to protect ourselves." Kaito nodded and looked into the pitch blackness surrounding them.

"Helping Miku is important, but she wouldn't want us hurt or killed in the process," He said quietly. Rin and Len looked surprise he had said anything and Meiko was surprised he hadn't run off to find her, but he was right. "We should make a plan."

"Alright," Len said, "I think I have an idea. Meiko, since you can fly, you can't be heard as easily as us walking, so you should go get weapons and fight off the ringmaster. Kaito, Rin, and I can go ahead to find Miku and protect her. We won't fight the ringmaster unless it's the only option. Once Meiko comes and we defeat the ringmaster, we go to where she found for us and we can take Haku and Neru too, right?" Meiko hadn't met Haku or Neru, but she guessed if Len liked them that they would be good people and fine to take with the group. Meiko nodded her agreement. "So, now we split up, I guess," Len said. He, Rin, and Kaito began walking into the darkness and Meiko flew off to where she assumed some form of weapon would be.

Even with enhanced vision, Meiko found it very hard to see except a little in front of her. She flew closer to the wall with a hand extended. There, hung dozens of rusted tools. Meiko looked over all of them and shuddered at their old uses. She was selecting one when she heard yells. Panic suddenly overwhelmed Meiko and she began realizing exactly what she was getting into. She quickly grabbed the tool and flew as fast as she could to where the group was. Miku was on the ground, a large gash on her left arm. Rin and Len were holding the leash attached to Kaito's straightjacket. Kaito seemed the most off. He was running towards Miku, madly licking at his lips, a few drops of silvery drool sliding out of his mouth.

"What's going on?" Meiko blurted.

"He smells her blood!" Rin yelled. "With the excitement and anxiety earlier, it set him off! I thought he didn't do that anymore!" Meiko picked up the dull axe in her hand and turned it so the sharp end was facing towards her. She flew as fast as possible to the group and brought the blunt end of the axe down onto Kaito's head. A loud thud echoed through the dark room as he fell unconscious to the ground. Miku let out a soft cry as he hit the ground. Meiko looked down in horror at her hands and then down at Kaito. When she noticed his chest rising and falling, she let out a sigh of relief. Silence fell over the group until they heard the soft padding of footsteps echoing towards them.

"Well, well, looks like you have some good friends, huh Diva? If only Beast would get off the ground and our other chimera would put the weapon down, we could have a party!" Said the ringmaster, his normal sickening smile painted on his face. Meiko raised the axe, forgetting the blunt end was facing towards him. "Now, now, there's no need for that," said the ringmaster. Meiko's hands shook and she could tell her palms were wet with sweat. The ringmaster walked closer to Meiko with one hand extended. "Come on, hand it over and you'll be fine." Meiko shook her head slowly and raised the axe higher as the ringmaster stepped closer to her. He finally walked to right below her, hand still extended. When Meiko didn't hand over the axe, he frowned. "You must learn to cooperate, chimera." The ringmaster pulled a vial out of his coat pocket.

"Receive your penalties," He said and popped the top off. Faster than anyone in the group, he splashed Meiko with the liquid inside. Meiko screamed as the acid burned her cheek and nearly dropped the axe. However, she kept her grip tight on the weapon and turned to face the ringmaster, who looked shocked. Before he could say or do anything, she swung down with as much force as she could muster and hit the ringmaster on the top of his head. A loud crack echoed through the room and the ringmaster collapsed to the ground next to Kaito, but they were different. The ringmaster crumpled more limply to the ground and his eyes were more glassy. His chest was still and his expression frozen in a moment of terror to be stuck on his face forever. The ringmaster was dead.

Finally, Meiko released the axe. It fell out of her hands and clattered to the floor next to the ringmaster. She drew out a shaky breath and fell to her knees. Everyone looked shocked, but Rin was the first to speak.

"You did it," she said. "We're free." At that, tears began flowing out of her eyes, and soon out of everyone else's eyes. Freedom. At last.


	11. Freedom

A/N: Thank you Katize Luka for reviewing! Also, this isn't over yet, but should I make a sequel with what happens afterwards? Unrelated, but Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is really good. Mrs. Miracle: Even though this is deliberately sad, I felt kind of bad to have made you cry. Thank you for reviewing and favoriting! EC: I can't tell you, but I think mine is different than other people's.

Shock hung heavy in the air like the quiet after a lightning strike. Freedom. Free. No more cages or shows or acid or anything of the like. Meiko's hand flew up to her face, half to hold her wound and half to stop her tears of rejoice.

"You actually did it..." Len said. He looked shocked and amazed as if he had witnessed a miracle, though in a way it was like it. Rin broke out in a grin and Len followed after her with a softer and calmer smile. They ran to her in an act of perfect teamwork between the two and hugged her as if she had brought them back from the dead. Once again, in a way she had.

"I can't believe it," Rin said with a sniffle.

"Neither can I," Meiko confessed. She moved her hand away from her face and returned the embrace. It felt good, like when she was with her parents, but in a way, Rin and Len and Miku and Kaito shared an experience with her nobody else could have, so it was better. She buried her face in Len's shoulder and sighed. It felt like an immense weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Miku swallowed a sob and looked to where Meiko, Rin, and Len where. Her eyes seemed to see, unlike the first time Meiko had seen them, and she realized Miku was, in fact, not blind.

"Thank you," seemed to be all she could manage to say before another sob racked her thin frame. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much." Meiko bit her lip to keep more tears from flowing out of her already red eyes. Only after the solution did she realize what an important role she had had in their lives. It made everything that had happened to her seem like something as small as a balloon popping. Though sobbing, Miku reached a hand out and placed it on Kaito's head. As if to calm herself down, Miku began running her hand through his hair. Kaito moved slightly and smiled. Rin stifled a laugh when she realized he was awake and pretending not to be. Once Miku had calmed down, she stopped and Kaito opened his eyes.

"H-how long have you been awake?" Len demanded. Kaito looked at Len and smiled.

"Long enough," he said.

"How long is 'long enough'?" By this point, Rin and Meiko were laughing loudly and Miku was laughing lightly.

"Long enough to see master die," he said. Everyone stopped laughing, except Rin, who carried on for a bit more. Kaito turned to Meiko. "How far in did you go?"

"How far in what?" asked Meiko. Kaito looked around the room and back at Meiko, giving her her answer.

"Oh, just to where the tools are," she said. Kaito stood up and quickly pulled Meiko to her feet. He walked to the wall near where the ringmaster came from. Without a word, he opened the top drawer and pulled out papers. He held them near Meiko. Newspapers.

KAITO SHION MISSING

Tuesday, March 15, 1853 Flooding to clear up

The eldest Shion child, Kaito, has been declared Flooding in Yanket said to

missing. It is said he was returning home after a class, clear up within a week at

only to be abducted. He was last seen on the 14th. the most, according to

The family requests anyone knowing anything about specialists. Hopefully, there

his whereabouts to contact them. The boy has blue will not be much water

hair down to slightly below his ears. His eyes are also damage, though several

blue. His skin is light. He is around 5'8" and weighs people have reported it.

around 135 pounds. He is around 16 years of age. (continued on page 3)

(continued on page 2)*

Shion... Meiko recognized that name. Oh! The Shion family owned a large house near the town she lived in. They had Japanese ancestry, which seemed interesting to Meiko. Meiko remembered hearing the oldest Shion boy had gone missing and having been kept in for the day. Kaito held the next newspaper clipping out.

CHILD OFF STREET MISSING

Friday, April 22, 1853

As of today, a second child this CARNIVAL IN WOODS SUCCESS

year has gone missing, though she The carnival in the woods has

came from a very different background. provided entertainment for a bit

Miku Hatsune was out doing errands for over a month now, The business is

her mother and didn't return. They growing, but they won't give out

alerted the police, but they couldn't anything about the acts.

find the girl. She has long turquoise hair

down to her waist usually tied back in

two pigtails. Her eyes are a greenish

turquoise. She is about 13 years old

and around 5'0".

Miku Hatsune was also a name Meiko recognized. She lived in the town as well and Meiko had talked to her a few times. Miku and Kaito were kidnapped, just like her. But why would the ringmaster keep articles like that? The reasoning behind it struck Meiko more than the fact they had all been kidnapped as well. Kaito held out the final newspaper clipping.

TWINS ABDUCTED OFF STREET

Thursday, September 7, 1854

Today, 12 year old twins, Rin and Len Kagamine,

were abducted while playing. People around them

saw them go into the forest to view the circus.

After that, they were not seen returning. It is

presumed they were abducted at the circus

or on their way back.

Kaito lowered the newspaper clippings. Meiko looked up. Kaito was still staring at the newspaper. He raised the one about Miku and let the others flutter to the ground. Carefully, he placed his fingers and ripped part of the paper off. The article about Miku fluttered to the ground. He held the piece about the circus between his thumb and pointer finger. He stared at it for a while more before letting it drop.

"What was that?" Meiko asked, half blurting it. Kaito looked up at her without any change in expression.

"The advertisement was for this circus," Kaito responded.

"Why did you show me those?" Meiko asked.

"I don't know," Kaito said. He held his hand out to Meiko, who took it. They walked back to the group.

"Are you guys ready to go?" asked Meiko. Rin and Len smiled and walked to Meiko. A few moments later, Miku did the same. As a group, they exited the room. The sky was dark with night. Huh, time sure had flown by. Two tall figures walked to them.

"Haku! Neru!" Rin cried. "Guess what? Meiko did it! She killed the ringmaster!" The figure dressed in a suit with white hair smiled.

"Good job," She said with a smile. The other stayed behind and yawned. "I would like to go with you, but we have to stay here."

"Awww, why?" Rin asked sadly.

"I can't say," responded the white-haired girl. She looked back to the yawning blonde and smiled. "You go ahead." Len looked to Rin and then to the rest of the group.

"Well, I guess they have to stay," he said. The group paused, each waiting for someone else to act. Kaito gave Meiko's hand a slight tug and began walking forward.

"Come one," He said. "Let's leave this place." A slight pause followed, but the group smiled and followed him. Meiko ran ahead, tugging Kaito behind her.

"Come on!" She said. "The place I told you about is in town!" The whole group soon ran after her. They dodged through the cobblestone paths of town which were mostly empty due to the time. Finally, they arrived at a large wooden house. Meiko grinned.

"This is it!" She said. They looked up at the house happily, but their hopes were soon shot down. A window hung open. The room behind it was empty. No lights were on and the door was ajar. The plants had grown wild over time of no care.

"Huh?" Meiko asked in saddened disbelief.

"It must have been shut down while you were away," Len observed.

"Yeah," Rin agreed, "we took a long time on planning." Hope soon faded from the group as storm clouds gathered in the navy blue sky, matching the sadness washing over them. Overwhelming emotions soon flooded the young Meiko. Her plan had failed. Though being homeless was better than being a freak show, she was sure they would be captured and killed or put back in a show. As much as she didn't want to, as much as she wanted to believe that they were wrong and someone would lean out and ask them to come in, she knew nobody would, and as much as she didn't want to, she cried. Miku heard her tears and pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay," She said. Her voice was quiet and comforting. "We can make a home. It will be fine." Rin and Len walked to the group and joined the conversation, but Kaito stayed, staring at the abandoned house. A period of time that could have been anywhere between a few minutes and half an hour passed by. Kaito's gaze was still fixed on the house. The clouds now blanketed the sky, turning it a dull shade of gray as if they had envied its earlier navy blue coloration or the many stars dotting it. Lightning flashed and drops of rain began falling from the sky. Slowly at first, but it quickly picked up. The storm broke Kaito's concentration and he looked down, squinting to keep rain out of his eyes until he was looking at normal eye level. He walked to the group. They stayed in silence for a few moments. Meiko looked like she was about to say something, but the voice of a man interrupted her.

"You came looking for this home, right?" The voice asked. It was in the middle of deep and high, leaning more towards deep. The group turned and looked to the side of the house where the voice came from. A tall man appearing to be in his mid-twenties with long purple hair tied back in a ponytail stood under part of the roof which stuck out and blocked rain from hitting him. He was dressed in a fine suit. "I can tell you're not like most people. I work for a place similar, and if you don't doubt me, you can come with me. There is a larger home back in the woods."

More disbelief. While the idea seemed far-fetched, so did being deformed and put in a circus, killing the ringmaster, and escaping. Honestly, no matter what it was, it didn't seem like it could be any worse than what they had already gone through? The idea seemed to pass through everyone's mind and Len stepped forward.

"We would be very grateful," he said with a smile. The purple man smiled slightly.

"Follow me." The rest of the journey was quiet. Deep into the woods, the trees spaced out. Kaito bit his lip remembering the circus. He bit harder than expected, and a few drops of crimson beaded near the bottom of his lip. His tongue flicked out and lapped up the blood. His mind flashed back to when he had first been taken to the circus. He was 16 and had never been to a circus before, he had always been kept inside studying, so the idea was exciting. He had readily accepted the offer and had gone with a man. Once there, he had been tortured and starved until he was desperate enough to eat human flesh, and beyond that. He had been reduced to a beast-like state. The only thing he thought about was how to get food. However, when the others had come, that started to die down, but sometimes he would lose it. The memories made him cringe and without realizing it, he had stopped in the path with his hands curled into fists. Meiko stopped and walked back to Kaito. She tugged his arm.

"Kaito?" She said. He snapped out of the trance and looked down at Meiko. He smiled.

"Oh, I'm fine, I just was thinking," he said. Meiko didn't fully believe his answer, but his expression said that it was all he would say on the matter.

"It kind of reminds me of the circus," she confessed once they had got back walking.

"Hmm?" Kaito said. "Me too." Only a few moments later, she grabbed his hand. Kaito turned and looked to her, but she was facing ahead. He turned back to the path, with a slight smile. To him, she was almost like a little sister. They walked further into the woods and came to a large house.

"So he wasn't lying," Len muttered, barely loud enough for Rin to hear. The lights were on in several windows and it had a welcoming air about it. Meiko ran up to the house and tugged Kaito along behind her. The purple man walked to the door and opened it for the others to walk in. The group entered the house, feeling almost out of place. Most of them needed a haircut badly, having two to three years without a haircut, and had much too infrequent showers, which were more being sprayed down with a hose than anything. The house was grad and clean. The purple man lead them to a table.

"Sit," he said. "My name is Gakupo, I run a house for people who are... extraordinary. I would like to know who you are, if you wouldn't mind."

"I'm Rin!" said Rin. "My brother is Len." Len gave a small wave.

"I'm Miku," Miku said. Her voice sounded happier than Meiko had heard it while they were at the circus.

"I'm Meiko," Meiko said.

"Kaito," said Kaito. He offered a slight smile.

"Welcome," Gakupo said. "You can go to any room that isn't already occupied and you can stay there. We will try to find clothes we think will fit you and you can get cleaned up. Then, we would like to introduce you to everyone else. The group walked separate ways, each very happy for a chance to get clean.

Meiko walked down the stairway. Ah, she hadn't felt clean in a long time. They had given her a light pink dress a bit too big for her borrowed from someone named Teto. She walked into what seemed to be a large living room. The others were already down there. Rin and Len were dressed in their old outfits, unfortunately, nothing there was designed for two people, though someone had quickly cleaned and patched up their outfit. Miku was wearing a green dress belonging to a girl named Gumi. She had bandages covering her wounds, Meiko did as well, and her blindfold was off. Kaito's hair was held back in a ponytail. Meiko had never noticed how long it was. It had grown out to part way down his back after nearly three years without a haircut. He was dressed in one of Gakupo's suits. Meiko had also never noticed how he held himself. He held himself in a way one would expect of someone belonging to a rich family. Even after years of being in a circus, he had his old habits. Meiko smiled slightly at that and adjusted the flower hair clip Gakupo had given her because her bangs were grown out too much and irritating her.

A group had gathered in the living room. A fire was on in the fireplace. In the front of the group was a girl with green hair who had been previously introduced as Gumi. Apparently, she had been the reason Gakupo had started the home. She was his sister, a psychic born without legs who had been left at an abandoned carnival when she was younger. As a child and young teenager she was bitter and jealous because of her disadvantage and had had to do "things nobody should do; things nobody should have to do, especially", but Gakupo had found her before she was found and killed or put in a circus sideshow. Then, when he and his girlfriend, Luka, had found out about more people who were simply born differently or made different who were ostracized or killed, he decided that they shouldn't have to put up with that and, since a lot were left without homes, he made a place for them to live and hopefully eventually people would stop treating them badly. Next to Gakupo stood Luka. Her pink hair was held back by a headband covered in beautiful gold designs. She was beautiful, in Meiko's opinion at least.

The group gathered murmured, giving looks of curiosity to the people at the front of the room. Gakupo clapped his hands together and the group fell silent.

"Alright, as you may have noticed, we have some new people who will be staying here. We found them by the old house," he said. "Please, tell us some about yourselves." Meiko took a step forward. All of the crowd, even the people she already knew looked to her.

"Hello," she said with a smile. "I'm Meiko Sakine. I'm ten and I was born to a middle class family. My parents were killed in an accident and I was sent to an orphanage. I heard about a circus and was invited to go for free. There, I was kidnapped and I had fly wings put on my back. We escaped by killing the ringmaster." In the crowd, Meiko heard a few "Woah"s. Rin stepped forward. Len looked a bit more hesitant, but he followed after her.

"I'm Rin, and my brother is Len," she said. "We're both fourteen. We were born to a poor family who didn't care about us much. We heard of a circus and went. Then, we were sewn together and we had to perform." Shock hung like static. The group was excited to hear their stories. Miku walked forward. A few people stared at the bandages covering one of her eyes and a girl with very long, fluffy blond hair nudged a boy with blond hair and bandages over one of his eyes.

"Hi, I'm Miku," She said. " I'm sixteen. I was born to a slightly rich family. My parents cared for me, but I was curious about the outside world, so I went to a circus and was captured. I have goat legs instead of normal legs." She stepped back and the group stared at Kaito. He took a step forward.

"Hello," He said. "My name is Kaito Shion. I am around nineteen. I was born to a rich family. They said I was a musical genius and always kept me inside studying, but I always felt outshined by my siblings. I snuck out one night and went to a carnival where I was kidnapped and starved until I eventually went insane." At the group's horrified stares, he blurted: "I'm better now! I swear!" Gakupo looked at Kaito.

"Musical genius?" he asked.

"Yeah, I could play piano very well. I always found it easy. It was like I could see and feel the music," Kaito responded. "I hope that makes sense." Gakupo smiled.

"You are far more extraordinary than you think, Mr. Shion," he said. "Most people are, they simply don't know they are. You might think musical talent is normal, but as you said, you could feel and see music. You would probably be able to taste it or smell it, too, if you wanted to. Here, let me introduce some of the residents. Oliver!" The boy with blond hair and bandages stood up. The eye uncovered was a bright golden color. "The reason Oliver has so many bandages is he can see things other people can't and it gets distracting. His left eye sees through things. There is one on his right thigh that sees how things work and one on his left ankle that sees intentions behind things. He also has one on his forehead that is covered up by a bandage and his hair that sees truth. SeeU!" The girl with long, fluffy blond hair stood up. She had two black cat ears with small orange things in them. "You see her cat ears, right? Well, she also has normal ears. Her cat ears hear what people think, so the orange things block that out. There are many more people here, and each is extraordinary in their own way." Gakupo looked at a clock on the wall. "It's late. Everyone should head to bed now. Rin and Len, could you stay down here so we can make you pajamas? Everyone else, go to your room. You should have pajamas."

*In case you were wondering why Kaito's missing ad is longer than the rest, it's because he is from a rich family. In the 1800's, that would have a huge effect. Also, I got lazier as the characters went on :D

There will most likely be another chapter, possibly two, and then maybe a sequel if you want it. If not, I will just write what happens to everyone. Also woohoo! over 3,000 words! :DDDDDDDD


	12. Endings

A/N: I decided to finish the story here. It's been a lot of fun writing it! Thank you everyone who has followed/favorited/reviewed/viewed!

The next day, people who had heard of the circus earlier had gone to the forest only to find the performers gone and the ringmaster dead. Once they came to the scene, they came to the realization of what had happened. The families Kagamine, Hatsune, and Shion were told about what happened.

At the home, the five eventually became used to life there. They eventually left life at the circus behind and focused on the future, but nobody could forget what happened and they seemed closer than most people at the home. Their futures were separate, but their pasts were so much intertwined that they always kept in touch.

Meiko Sakine-

Meiko spent the rest of her childhood and her teenage years in the home. A letter was sent to the orphanage saying she was alive, and she never had other contact with them. As an adult, she decided to work as a teacher in the home to help others, but not get treated differently.

Rin and Len Kagamine-

A letter was sent to their parents saying they were "alive, but not in good condition for a visit". After months, their parents insisted on a visit. They were more than a bit surprised, and slightly angry. After that, they maintained brief contact. Rin and Len also worked in the home, though they instead worked to help maintain the people's health.

Miku Hatsune-

As with the others, a letter was sent to her family after most people had found out about the circus. As with Rin and Len, her mother insisted on coming, though she was more accepting. Miku decided to pursue a career in music and developed a romantic relationship with Kaito later in life (when she was around 20).

Kaito Shion-

Due to the fact he mostly appeared normal, the family was told of him being alive and asked if they wanted to see him. They came over and he returned to live at his house, though he returned to the home for school and to visit his friends. He, along with Miku, found a career in music.

A/N: So I guess that's that. :) I may add more if needed, but for now the story's just over.


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